


Black and Blue - Volume 1

by BlackHatKat, Pandora (Anatheia)



Series: Black and Blue - A RWBY Alternate Canon story [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Canon, Character insertion, Episodic companion piece, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:02:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23428924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackHatKat/pseuds/BlackHatKat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anatheia/pseuds/Pandora
Summary: Who exactly were the other two members of Penny Polendina's team?  This is their story, and how the pair quickly got swept up in the action, whether they liked it or not.
Relationships: Cardin Winchester/Original Male Character, Mercury Black/Original Female Character
Series: Black and Blue - A RWBY Alternate Canon story [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685386
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue - Black and Blue

**Author's Note:**

> A collaboration between myself and my writing partner Pandora (Anatheia). This started out as just a companion piece/scene insertion for the show, hence the often-short chapters. Hope you find our headcanon entertaining! :)

\--

_Yang Xiao Long: You're from Atlas, what can we expect?_

_Weiss Schnee: Seeing as how their kingdom, academy and armed forces are all merged as one, I think we can expect strict, militant fighters with advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategies._

\--

Prologue: Black and ~~White~~ Blue

\--

A tall young man with brown hair streaked with green and blue drummed his palms along the steering wheel of the black car. He'd seen the fight out at the docks-- he'd even thought about interfering. Instead, he'd done his job and called it in-- and General Ironwood had allowed him to let Penny finish the battle. He was still in shit for letting his 'little sister' wander off. He’d been looking for her all afternoon before confessing to his partner that she'd snuck off. Azura hadn’t been thrilled and had given him a thorough scolding before agreeing to bail him out of trouble. She’d pulled up the embedded tracker on her scroll and pinged the synthetic girl which had given them the location of the Vale shipyards.

Once they arrived, it was clear Penny had gotten involved.

It was a good test of her capabilities. Still...

"You should know better than to go running around in a strange city." He said it gently, and Penny looked down at her lap-- she'd been staring out the window at the girl in the red hood she had fought to protect. Beside her in the back seat, Azura was going through a post-combat remote diagnostic on her scroll.

"I know, Sir," Penny sighed.

He winced a little. He hated it when she called him 'Sir'. That wasn't supposed to be his place in her life. He started the car and pulled away from the docks. "Penny-- your time will come," he said, and gave her a warm smile in the rear-view mirror. His blue eyes met Azura’s when she looked at him as well. "That said, kiddo..."

Penny glanced up, smiling just a little. “Yes, Nyx?”

"You kicked some serious butt. That was awesome!" he told her, and she giggled, giving him a thumbs up.

"I'm Combat Ready!"

Azura shook her head with a small smile while Nyx laughed.

"Damn right you are!" he stated.

xxx


	2. Extracirricular (A)

"Azura?"

"Hm?" The blue-eyed young woman looked up from the data on her scroll to the ginger-haired synthetic human sitting on the chair.

"Are you looking forward to the dance?" Penny tilted her head to the side, her hair bobbing.

"It'll be fine, I'm sure," Azura shrugged, reaching over to adjust one of the sensors attached to Penny's arm so that she could get a better reading. 

"Nyx seems to be quite excited about it," Penny remarked idly. "Where is he right now?"

"He said something about sitting in on Professor Goodwitch's combat class today." Azura hummed, sliding the tip of her finger around the screen.

"Do you have a dress? Ciel said she’s been too busy and hasn’t found one yet."

"I brought a party dress with me."

"Ooh, what does it look like?"

Azura gave her a small smile. "You'll have to wait and see," she teased.

"Aw," Penny pouted. "Well I think it will be a fun evening. Nyx promised to dance with me and he always keeps his promises."

"Try not to step on his toes, okay?" Azura chuckled. She knew that Nyx was, in fact, the only one permitted to dance with Penny anyways. Azura wasn't a huge party-person, but attending the ball was an order, so she would put on her stupid heels and play nice. Hopefully there wouldn’t be too many boys clamouring after her for a dance-- supposedly she was ‘exotic-looking’, or so Nyx had claimed when they’d first met when they were young. She’d never thought herself pretty or interesting-- she looked like every other Mistral girl from her neighbourhood with her pale skin and black hair, although her eyes were blue instead of brown. But apparently that was an attractive feature... one that had led Nyx to kiss her a few years ago. Afterwards, they immediately agreed that it had been a terrible idea, and decided that they’d be much better off back as friends and partners. It’d worked, and they’d gotten to where they were today because of it.

"Of course I won’t do that! I wouldn't want to hurt him, especially right before the tournament!" Penny put a hand up to her mouth, aghast at the thought.

"That was a joke, Penny," Azura said and the 'girl' across from her relaxed, laughing a bit to herself.

"Right, I get it," she nodded.

The door to their dorm room opened and Nyx breezed in past the Atlas soldier stationed outside.

"Nyx! We were just talking about you!" Penny perked up in her seat.

"Nothing bad, I hope?" Nyx grinned, plopping down on his bed.

"No. We were just discussing the dance! Azura won't let me see her dress," Penny told him.

"Aw, Azura!"

Azura rolled her eyes. "How was the class, Nyx?"

"Interesting. That Pyrrha Nikos girl from Team JNPR demolished those CRDL bullies. It was pretty impressive," Noel said.

"One V Four? She's really living up to that 'Invincible Girl' moniker, isn't she?"

"Yeah but that wasn't the interesting part."

Nyx looked at the closed door and then back at Azura. "I'll... tell you later."

"Mm, okay." Azura closed her diagnostic programs and unhooked Penny from her scroll. “Everything looks good.” She turned Penny’s hands over to inspect her freshly repaired palms. “Please be more careful next time, it’s not easy to fabricate this polymer here. Luckily I thought to bring extra supplies,” she gently chastised her.

“I know, I’m sorry Azura, I will,” Penny nodded.

Azura smiled and turned to Nyx. "Why don't we go get some dinner then?"

"Sounds good. Penny, we'll be back soon and then I'm totally gonna beat you at that fighting game!" Nyx ruffled Penny's hair and she giggled.

"You can try, Nyx!" she laughed.

xxx


	3. Extracirricular (N)

He sat in the upper level of the teaching arena, watching the renowned Pyrrha Nikos absolutely stomp Team CRDL down below. The quartet was banished, limping but unwounded, back into their seats. He listened to the shorter three muttering as Pyrrha gracefully moved her new opponent's boots around the training floor; Mercury Black, according to the aura-readouts above them.

Bitter whining from bragging mouths. Cardin said nothing, silently nursing his bruised ego as below, Mercury oddly forfeited his battle. Nyx watched everyone leave. The moment they were dismissed, Cardin's team rose, and walked out without him. Dove looked particularly eager to leave him behind after having been hit in the fight by Cardin.

With ease, Nyx rose, and lightly touched down behind Cardin-- placing a hand on his shoulder. Cardin jerked-- then grunted, and leaned forwards with a groan. Nyx eased the pressure of the increased gravity on Cardin-- enough so he could sit up and breathe--but not enough that he could stand.

"The hell?! Who are you?!" he snarled, and Nyx smiled a little.

"You... got your ass kicked. And-- not like you put up a decent fight but she has better training-- you suck," he murmured. Cardin flushed, but growled at him in wordless anger. Nyx hopped down the bleacher-style seats, and then settled into the spot beside Beacon's bully. "Doesn't feel good, does it?"

The growl died in Cardin’s throat, but his face grew redder still. "Who are you, asshole?!" he demanded, and Nyx stared at him for a moment.

"I've always found bullies-- interesting, you know? From an... intellectual standpoint," he commented, and Cardin snarled again.

"Let me go and I'll show you something interesting!!"

Nyx took a long look at the teenager, maybe a year or so younger than him. He looked furious. He realized almost absently that he was being just as bad as Beacon's local bully could be. Slowly, he released the pressure weighing Cardin down.

He immediately lifted a threatening fist, but Nyx smirked at him.

"You really think if I was scared of you I'd have let you go, Cardin Winchester?"

After a moment of thought processing, Cardin shoved Nyx backwards as he pushed himself away.

"Who are you, and what do you want-- because you obviously want something," Cardin snapped at him, and Nyx grinned.

"My name is Nyx. I'm from Atlas Academy-- and I want to know why you didn't use your semblance against Pyrrha Nikos," he stated.

"How is that any of your business?" Cardin snapped, leaning against a barrier post as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. 

Nyx’s grin widened a little. "It's not-- I just don't see how you expect to remain Beacon's top Bully Badass if you can't beat anybody but that blond guy who can't fight for shit either?" 

Cardin's face went red, and Nyx was surprised when the young man didn't lunge at him. He said nothing, so Nyx leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked up at him.

"I-- I've unlocked my aura-- but I've-- never been able to activate my semblance-- no matter how hard I try," Cardin said quietly.

"And why haven't you told anyone?" Nyx asked curiously. Cardin didn't answer, and Nyx chuckled a little. "I see. So why tell me?"

That question, Cardin deigned to answer. "Because you asked, I guess. Why did you ask?" Cardin frowned down at him, and Nyx shrugged a little.

"Curiosity? Boredom? I'm here with my team for the Vytal festival-- but me and my partner are really only on the hook for getting through the first round. The other half of my team-- Headmaster wants to show off his prized pupil, so-- I'm out after the team round." He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "I was watching your team fight Nikos-- and your teammates were doing really well-- I mean, yeah, you were definitely still struggling together-- but once you knocked out that guy in bronze-- Nikos destroyed you. She was willing to fight all of you for as long as it took-- but once you got mad and it stopped being team CRDL and became team Cardin-- she put you down. She had complete control of that fight," he mused. Cardin was scowling, but he didn't seem like he was going to try and punch him again.

"Gee, thanks for that," he said dryly, and Nyx flushed.

"Sorry-- my partner is a pretty analytical chick-- we don't pull punches with each other. I guess we can be a bit-- blunt." Nyx sighed, and rose from his seat. "Look-- I'm bored-- you need help-- and I can already tell after like two weeks here that you have pretty much ruined any chance of getting anything from someone who knows you already," he began, and Cardin scowled at him.

"You came over here-- acted like a dick-- cuz you want a sparring partner?" the armoured teenager demanded angrily, and Nyx laughed, shaking his head.

"I didn't say I wanted to spar with you-- I want you to train with me. They say one improves through teaching others and through competition-- since I'm out of the competition after round one-- I'll make do with teaching you to fight better."

"What makes you think you can teach me anything?" Cardin demanded. "Your semblance is strong-- so what?"

Nyx slid his hands in his pockets with a cheerful smile. "How about you fight me and find out?"

Cardin made an annoyed sound. "Fine. I'll meet you back here after dinner-- but if you aren't at least as good as Pyrrha Nikos, I probably shouldn't waste my time," he snapped, before turning, and storming out. 

Nyx nodded to himself, grinning. Now he had something to do in his spare time while Azura was doing her science stuff!

xxx

After dinner with Azura in the cafeteria, Nyx took himself back to the main campus, where the classrooms were.

Cardin was pacing when Nyx arrived-- so he waited, and watched from the shadows. Nyx loved shadows-- lingering in them had served him-- and his father-- very well. Cardin stretched a little, but his muttering seemed more about clearing Nyx’s words from his head.

"Can I ask a really personal question?" Nyx asked quietly, and Cardin whirled, scowling deeply.

"About what?" he asked.

"Is it your mother who is cruel?" 

Cardin stared at him. "Why didn't you guess my dad?" 

Nyx stepped into the training ring across from him, sighing a little.

"Because you're a big, strong guy-- if your dad was a dick you'd just punch him-- but your mom? You can't punch your mom, right?" Nyx asked, and Cardin looked away.

"She-- wants me to do better-- be better," he defended quietly, and Nyx paced closer to him, until he was standing well within Cardin's reach.

"So do I. Which one of us do you believe?" he asked quietly, and Cardin flushed, looking away.

"Neither of you, yet-- unless you've got some skills to back up your semblance-- what is that? I felt like I was being crushed-- like my body weighed a ton!" he frowned. 

Nyx smiled, and turned on his heel, pacing a few feet away. "Gravity Crush-- my semblance is gravity manipulation-- myself, things I touch... I can increase and decrease their gravity," he explained. "You—oh-- right. Any ideas? Your family have a common trait?" he asked. 

Cardin didn't reply for a moment, and then he just sighed, and shook his head. "No idea. My dad left when I was just barely enough to remember he was nice-- and my mom's it-- mostly used to chuck shit at my head when she drank. Yet another way I am absolute trash," he sighed. 

Nyx turned on his heel, and gave Cardin a solemn look, as if studying him. The Beacon student flushed under the scrutiny.

"Useless, I know--" he said as if it was habit. He actually flinched when Nyx suddenly grabbed the front of his armour, and gave him a small shake.

"No--" Nyx frowned at him, and Cardin blinked in surprise. "From now on-- don't think about her--think about me, instead."

"Why do you even--" Cardin licked his lips a little, staring in surprise. "Why do you care?"

Nyx’s frown softened a little, and he sighed. "Because I decided I wanted to. Not because you are ‘useful’ to me. I don't have some ulterior motive. Your semblance is blocked, and all that fucked up shit somebody else put in your head-- it's ruining any chances you have to get help from the people who have gotten to know-- this version of you," Nyx stated. 

Cardin laughed, and pulled away, putting space between them. "There is only one version-- this loud fucking bully-- just like my mean ass bitch of a mother--" he swore, and Nyx laughed a little.

"So far-- it's never too late to change, Cardin-- you're what? seventeen?" he asked, and Cardin gave a short nod. "Well, I don't see your mean ass bitch of a mother anywhere here, do you?"

"No..."

"Well then-- what are you waiting for? Choose to try something new-- fight me. Train with me. I'll help you for no reason other than you need it. Who knows? You might even fight me in the Tournament. You might be able to win," Nyx smiled.

Cardin sighed, then scrubbed his hands over his face for a moment, before he nodded. "Yeah-- okay-- fine. But-- nobody knows about this," he stated, and Nyx nodded, smirking a little.

"You'll learn that I'm very good at keeping secrets."

\--

Cardin hit the floor.

Again and again, he smashed into the ground-- sailing over Nyx’s shoulder, hip, foot. His arms and legs were pulled in painful directions, and if it weren't for his aura, he'd have been in the infirmary. As it was, everything ached.

And still the smug Atlesian gave him that easy grin.

"Again," Nyx said as he stared down at him, and Cardin sighed.

"No man-- I've had-- enough for tonight," he managed, and scrubbed his hands over his face. Nyx’s hand was outstretched to him when he looked up again. After a moment of stubborn and prideful hesitation, he took it, and Nyx pulled him up. "This must be what it feels like to be Jaune."

Nyx laughed in surprise at the mention of the blond Beacon student. "All it took was one asskicking for you to develop empathy? There's more human in there than I thought," Nyx chuckled, and Cardin glared at him.

"I'm not some fuckin' faunus--" he began, and suddenly, he was horizontal again, stretched out on the floor. Unlike all the other times, this time, his mouth tasted like blood. Cardin ran his tongue over his teeth-- one felt loose in his bottom jaw.

"The hell?!" he managed, and looked up at Nyx in surprise.

The look of anger on Nyx’s face made him go still-- he could see the fist that had knocked him down-- he'd cut his knuckles on Cardin's teeth-- a Fight Bite.

"You really think Humans are better than Faunus?" he asked coldly, and Cardin stared up at him, suddenly too terrified of his strange sparring partner to speak. Nyx slowly crouched, ignoring the blood now dripping down his fingers, onto the floor beside Cardin's leg. "Well?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I said no, would you? I've already shown everyone I'm a racist fuckin' bully--" Cardin sighed as he sat up. He didn't bother to swipe at his bloody mouth, just swept his tongue over his teeth, and spat a gob of bloody saliva onto the floor beside the slowly forming pool beneath Nyx’s hand. He was suddenly so fucking done with this day.

"But the truth is that my mean ass bitch of a mother hates faunus because my dad left her for one-- and if I ever said any kind word to a faunus-- she beat me, and called me a fucking traitor-- animal-lover-- fag--" he cut himself off as the words began to pour out-- all the things his hateful mother screamed at him when he asked to see his father-- whenever he displeased her after that.

The list of obscenities had gotten longer over the years-- more specific to him-- less to his father.

"She called you a fag?" Nyx asked quietly.

"Well-- yeah-- that's what you call your gay son when you hate him, isn't it?" he asked in response. 

Nyx stared at him for a long moment, balanced easily on his toes as he crouched beside Cardin. The younger teenager looked exhausted-- not just from having his ass kicked multiple times in one day-- he'd just said something incredibly personal-- several things, in fact. Like Nyx had broken a dam inside the bully, and everything that had been weighing him down came pouring out at his feet.

After a moment of staring, Nyx’s body weight shifted slightly, and he leaned towards Cardin slowly.

Cardin froze as Nyx’s unbloodied hand caught the back of his neck. He tensed, almost expecting an attack. Instead, Nyx’s mouth pressed against his bruised, parted lips.

It hurt a little-- then it stung, and he inhaled sharply.

Nyx broke the kiss hastily, and Cardin watched him run his tongue over his bottom lip, then catch it in his teeth as they both realized what he'd just done.

"So-- that happened--" Nyx managed, and Cardin gave a surprised laugh, and lifted a hand to wipe his mouth of blood. It didn't hurt anymore, and he ran his tongue around his mouth, frowning a little. His aura must have flared up and healed the damage. He looked down, and caught Nyx’s still bleeding hand in his own for a moment. The wounds on his knuckles healed over, and Nyx looked at him in surprise.

"I didn't do that-- you-- your semblance?" he asked, and Cardin shrugged.

"Maybe? I dunno-- I--" he reached up, and caught the back of Nyx’s neck, and pulled him close again, kissing him firmly. "Sorry--" he said when he broke the kiss-- that one had gotten rather involved. 

Nyx gave a breathless laugh. "Shit-- what for? That was hot--" he managed, and Cardin gave a surprised laugh.

"Thanks-- that would be my first... and second... kisses," he admitted, and Nyx smiled a little.

"How long have you been hiding everything you are, Cardin Winchester?" he asked sadly, and Cardin's smile faded.

"Forever."

xxx


	4. Burning the Candle (N)

Getting summoned to see the Headmaster would have been quite normal at home-- but when Glynda Goodwitch escorted the Atlesian student into the elevator, she was frowning at him. He said nothing-- stood vaguely at attention, and then followed her calmly into the large room.

Ozpin was seated at his desk with a cup of tea in his hand, and standing beside the desk, in his own white uniform, was General Ironwood. The brown-haired young man stopped a few feet from the men, then saluted crisply.

"General Ironwood. Headmaster Ozpin," he said politely, and then folded his hands behind his back.

Ozpin sipped his tea, then put the glass down and looked at the General. "You know the candidates are supposed to be--" he began, and Ironwood held up a hand.

"He's-- not a candidate, Oz... this... is Nyx Kenyon... my son," the man said. 

Ozpin's eyes widened, and Nyx’s did too.

"I wasn't aware you had a family--" Glynda began in surprise, and Nyx stared at the floor when his father spoke to Ozpin.

"No one is-- I've kept our relationship under wraps... since it was my connection to you that cost us his mother." 

Nyx’s head snapped up, looking at him in shock.

"You said--" he began, and James Ironwood sighed a little.

"I lied-- to keep you safe-- to keep both of you safe-- but I failed. So I lied again-- and again-- such is the way of secret wars," he shrugged. 

Ozpin frowned. "That is how they remain secret, James. Why precisely are we discussing this in front of your son?" he asked sharply.

"Because you have four students who broke up a White Fang Rally, nearly destroyed the docks-- and somehow managed to trip into this fight of ours. Wouldn't you rather be kept abreast of such activities engaged in by your students? I know I certainly would," James replied flatly, and crossed the few feet between him and his son.

"Nyx and his partner Azura Yiu are two of our finest-- I'm as confident in them as I am in Winter Schnee-- and frankly I'm more confident in Nyx’s abilities than I am in certain other agents you tend to use," Ironwood frowned at him.

Glynda snorted slightly.

"I haven't even seen what the boy can do and I'll second that!" she declared, and Ozpin sighed.

"And what would you have him do?" the man asked in irritation.

"Keep an eye on Team RWBY, for starters," Ironwood declared.

"Why am I watching one of the other teams? What for?" Nyx asked curiously, and Ozpin sighed a little.

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee--" 

Nyx’s brows shot up at the Atlesian heiress's name. 

"Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long-- Team RWBY, once of my most promising teams of Huntresses. They also have a nose for trouble, and the determination to ignore my warnings. Don't interfere with them-- but if you happen to notice them doing something they shouldn't--" Ozpin trailed off, and Ironwood frowned at him.

"Ruby Rose and her team were at the docks-- after Penny wandered off," he stated, and Nyx’s eyes widened.

"OH-- Ohhhh-- I see, Sir. Of course, I'll keep an eye on Penny-- she's like a little sister to me! Don't worry-- if I see Ruby and Penny together-- I'll keep them in my sights," he assured his father. 

Ozpin shook his head. "Mr. Kenyon," he said, and Nyx looked at the man seated at the large desk. "There is more going on here than mere security for the Vytal Festival. Once you become a part of this-- there is no going back, young man. Are you prepared to sacrifice your life for a cause you know nothing about?"

Nyx stared at him for a moment, and then sighed a little.

"When I was three-- my mother was murdered. If the people you are fighting are the ones that did that-- I'll fight them. I'll die fighting them if I must," he said calmly, and then lifted his hands, and ran them into his thick hair.

James Ironwood tensed as his son dragged half his hair into a ponytail in his fist-- revealing two ragged edges of flesh, curving down his scalp.

"I'll fight them-- because whatever you're doing-- it was important enough that my father didn't give you up when they cut off my ears-- or when they cut her throat. He thought it was better all three of us die than betray you-- So-- yeah. If my own father thinks this war of yours is more important than us-- then it is. Which means that I will fight-- because there are obviously only two choices-- fight or die at the hands of the people who killed my mother-- and I'm not willing to do that, Sir," Nyx concluded firmly.

Ozpin's leaned back in his seat, and then nodded.

"Very well, young man-- keep an eye on your little sister and team RWBY... and when I have a better grasp of your skills after the Vytal Festival...we'll fill in the blanks for you then-- and you can act on your father's behalf after that."

Nyx released his hair, and it settled neatly into place when he gave a sharp nod.

"Yes Headmaster-- thank you," he said, and gave a quarter turn to face his father. "If you have no further orders, sir?"

"Thank you, Son-- you are dismissed."

xxx

Azura gave a scream of surprise as the door to their room burst open, and Nyx sailed through. He was holding several boxes in a stack, and kicked the door shut with his heel.

"What are you doing?!" she demanded, textbook clutched against her chest. He set the boxes down, and gave her a cheerful wink.

"I am being a good brother!" he declared, and turned to look at Penny. She was seated at a desk, filling out her assignments.

"Miss Penny Polendina!" he barked, and she bolted to her feet.

"Yes Mister Nyx Kenyon!?" she asked excitedly.

"I have been officially informed that I have the esteemed honor--" he said solemnly, and offered her his hand. "Of escorting you to the dance on Sunday!"

Penny gasped, and took his offered hand. He pulled her closer to the pile of boxes, and she went-- not because he actually pulled her-- but because Nyx was in many ways responsible for the sweet girl she'd become. Penny went because Nyx treated her like his kid sister, and had from the day he'd been given clearance to meet her. It was why Nyx was a part of their team at all-- so he could give Penny a near constant stream of brotherly affection.

Azura cared about Penny too-- but when she had to sometimes open parts of the little girl up, it was easier to stay a little more-- distant. Nyx didn't have to regularly watch the light fade from her eyes. It was his job to make them light up-- and hers to sometimes make them go dim.

They all had jobs to do, so Azura settled back on her bed, and watched Nyx do his.

"What's all this?" Penny asked as he laid the boxes out.

"Well-- The General says that you're not allowed to go shopping unfortunately-- so I went out and bought a bunch of dresses and stuff for you to try on!" he stated, and Azura’s jaw dropped.

"YOU bought them?" she asked, and he looked at her when he nodded. "Not-- expensed?" she hazarded, because Ciel, who was actually back in their dorm room today, had risen from her own homework to come stand beside them.

"I bought all of it-- whatever she doesn't want or doesn't fit, I'll return it later," he replied, and she smiled a little.

"You're a good brother," she stated, and he grinned happily at her-- looking for all the world like a happy puppy for a moment. "Did you buy me a new dress too?" she teased. The immediate look of panic in his eyes made Azura burst out laughing. "Please, Nyx-- I'll buy my own dresses, thank you."

Standing silently beside Penny as she dug into the first box, Ciel's dusky cheeks turned a little pink. Nyx blinked, and then swore, and went back out the door.

"Hang on--" he said from the hall-- and Azura’s jaw dropped again when he walked back in. In each hand, he was carrying several bags-- all from ladies dress shops-- except one larger black bag. He let that bag slip off his fingertips onto his bed, and then sorted through the bags for a moment before handing three of them to Ciel. She stared at them for a moment, and he grinned.

"I didn't forget you, Ciel, don't worry! I even found a dress in your favorite shade of blue!"

Azura looked at the girl who’d been most recently assigned to their team as she took the bags from him, and smiled a little, before Penny gasped.

"Azura! You have to help me pick! They're all so cute!" Penny declared, and Azura looked at the now opened boxes. She was surprised to see that the assortment of dresses were actually cute-- Nyx always dressed well, but she'd put that down to the fact that he just looked good in a suit-- and their uniform. She sighed a little sadly.

"What?" he asked, and she gave him a helpless shrug.

"I guess I'm kind of disappointed you didn't find one for me now-- I'm curious what you would have picked!" she admitted, and Nyx grinned.

"I'll buy you a pretty new dress when Penny wins the Vytal Tournament," he cooed, and Azura rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to buy the dress-- but now you have no excuse to not come with me when I have to buy a new one!"

xxx


	5. Dance Dance Infiltration (A)

Once the song ended, Cinder leaned over and gave Mercury a light peck on the cheek (for appearances, of course) before drifting off, probably to find Emerald. Mercury glanced at the clock, it was getting pretty late but the party was still going. These Beacon students had energy, that was for sure. Enjoy the rest of the night, huh?

He surveyed the room and something... no, make that someone immediately caught his attention. She was leaning on the railing of one of the upper balconies with a tired expression on her pretty face. It wasn't lost on him that her dress was the exact same colours as his usual attire plus a splash of blue that matched the streaks in her dark hair as well as her eyes. There was also a glint of something shiny in her partially-pulled back hair. Ooh, she was probably well-off to boot. He grinned to himself. "Oh, it looks like I will enjoy myself after all," he murmured under his breath as he made his way to the stairs.

\--

Azura’s feet were sore; she absolutely hated wearing heels but it was all part of the outfit which included Penny wanting to do her hair. At least she’d brought a clip with her, albeit a somewhat valuable one given the sapphire embedded in the center. She'd retreated up to this balcony since it was vacant... there'd been far too many boys asking her to dance, much to Nyx’s amusement. She’d let him guide her through one song, but that was it. Penny was currently sitting at a table with her Atlas soldier guards while playing a game on her scroll with Ciel, which was rather surprising. The night was almost over, and soon she'd be able to get some rest and then in the morning, back to training for the Tournament. At least she had been able to have a good view of Team JNPR’s dance number while up here. She’d always been more of a people-watcher anyways... so when she’d unlocked her semblance all those years ago, it wasn’t a huge surprise at what it was.

"Hey there."

She turned to see a silver-haired young man in the Haven Academy suit and tie who'd appeared and was now leaning against the railing next to her. Inwardly she rolled her eyes. Great, another idiot trying to hit on her. Just when she thought she was out of the woods, another one had crawled out after her.

"Hi." She smiled politely.

He smirked and looked her up and down. "So, do you have a name or can I just call you, 'Mine'?"

Azura snorted. "Excuse me?"

"What?" He shrugged, not even phased by her reaction. He then gestured between them. "You, me, we're a perfect match. You're even wearing my usual colours... well except for the blue but that's all yours I guess. Dress, hair, eyes... it's a hot look."

"You're serious," she looked at him incredulously. Out of all the guys tonight, this one definitely took the crown for biggest asshole. She idly wondered what would happen if she suckerpunched him. Would he fall backwards over the railing? Now that would be entertaining for sure.

“Dead serious,” he grinned. “Not every day I run into someone like you.”

“Uh huh.”

"So? What do you think? Wanna get out of here?"

Azura scowled. "I think--" she began but then was cut off as he actually reached out and put his finger on her lips. She was so in shock that she actually stopped talking.

"Hold that thought just a sec." He glanced down at the dance floor and then looked back at her with a sigh. "Damn. Sorry, I gotta run. I'm sure I'll see you around." He winked, lightly pushing the pad of his finger against her lips before whirling around and jogging away.

She watched as he met up with a tan-skinned, mint-haired girl in a dark green dress at the bottom of the stairs. From her body language, Azura could only assume she was his partner. She was pointing out at the middle of the floor rather angrily. Curious, Azura looked in that direction and saw Nyx accompanied by a stunning-looking dark-haired young woman in a sparkling black dress. She was hanging onto his arm and he was leading her off of the dance floor towards one of the outer doors. Azura chuckled softly at the unsurprising sight. She’d have to harass him about that later.

xxx


	6. Dance Dance Infiltration (N)

Penny never stepped on his toes once-- she was as graceful on the dance floor as she was in combat. Nyx danced with her, and Ciel, and Azura. Azura only indulged him once before retreating to one of the balconies to lurk as she was accustomed to.

Ciel was very stiff and blushed a lot, so after a couple of dances, he let her hide at the table where a couple of soldiers were sitting-- Penny's guards when he wasn't around. As the evening wore on, Penny opted to go sit with Ciel and play a game on their scrolls together. She encouraged Nyx to go out and dance with some of the pretty girls-- and he was just in time to see Jaune Arc enter the dance in an attractive, sweetheart neckline party dress.

He gave a hard snort, but Nora cued the DJ, who began to play a bright and cheery song. Nyx laughed, and clutched his heart as they began a coordinated dance number. After their performance finished to rousing applause, he wandered through the crowd until he ended up standing beside a young woman in a sparkly black dress that had caught his eye minutes ago. They didn't have to wear their uniforms tonight-- which was why he had gone for a personal black suit, rather than standard issue school dress ensemble like many of the other guys here who might not have owned such attire-- it offered him an air of mystery. She glanced at him with amber eyes, and he smiled slightly.

"I hear that blond’s the worst student in Beacon-- but it takes balls to pull that dress off," he commented, motioning at where Jaune was chatting with some of his friends and she smirked a little.

"Would you look as good?" she asked, and Nyx chuckled.

"Please-- I would destroy him-- a little contouring is all it would take-- I'm too pretty," he sighed, and offered his hand, palm up.

"Nyx-- and you are?" he asked, and she looked him up and down appraisingly before she took his hand.

"Cinder. You're not dressed up like the other students here," she stated as he led her to the dance floor, and his hand settled on her hip. Her hand curled behind his neck, and she trailed her fingers through his thick hair. His next blink might have been a little longer than usual, but his smile was charming still.

"I'm from Atlas-- and since that basically means I'll be wearing a uniform for the rest of my foreseeable life-- well-- I thought I'd wear my own suit tonight," Nyx shrugged.

Cinder smiled a little, meeting his blue eyes. "Hmm-- it looks good on you-- I suppose you are rather pretty aren't you?" 

Nyx chuckled, giving her a graceful twirl. When she spun close again, Cinder moved closer still.

"I confess-- I saw you dancing earlier with who I assume is your teammate-- but-- he seems rather interested in my teammate now--" he stated, and his gaze flicked upwards.

Cinder looked up, and he turned them so she didn't have to look around. She spotted the silver-haired young man speaking to a slender, attractive girl who appeared to have Mistral origins. No wonder he’d zoned in on her; her dress was silver-grey and black with blue accents to match her streaked hair. A perfect compliment to his own colour scheme. 

"Hm-- you don't say..." she murmured, her amber eyes shifting away in thought, and as they turned again, she looked back to his blue eyes. "Is that a problem for you?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"No-- I just thought I should find out if it's going to be a problem for her?" he asked, and Cinder blinked in surprise.

"Are you asking if Mercury is going to hurt her?" she asked, and Nyx shrugged.

"I'm asking if you are going to hurt her, actually," he replied, and Cinder actually managed to look a little offended. Nyx smiled slightly, and twisted suddenly, his arm around her back as he dipped her lightly. "My apologies-- you simply have the look of a dangerous woman. I wouldn't want her to draw your ire needlessly."

Cinder felt her cheeks warm, and then suddenly, she was on her feet again, staring up at him.

"She can have Mercury-- if she can stand him-- I'm more interested in you--" she murmured, and Nyx’s smile widened a little.

"How serendipitous--" he murmured, as the song ended, and a young woman in a green dress wearing an angry look appeared out of the crowd behind Cinder's back. "A sentiment I share-- but your friend looks angry."

Cinder turned, and frowned a little at the sight of the girl.

"Oh-- Emerald-- what is it?" she asked. She didn't hide her irritation at the interruption, and Emerald cleared her throat.

"I-- thought we were leaving-- I lost track of you after you were done dancing with Mercury," she grumbled, and Cinder smirked a little.

"Go ahead and return to our rooms if you want-- I've decided to stay and enjoy the party after all," she said, and turned back to Nyx with a smile. "Now-- where were we?" she asked, and he offered his arm.

"Perhaps we should... get some air?" 

Cinder gave a sultry chuckle, and took it-- gazing up at him through her lashes and smoky eye makeup.

"Sure-- then maybe you can try to take my breath away?" she flirted, and he gave a handsome grin back.

"As the lady wishes-- I am happy to oblige." 

They both ignored the infuriated sound Emerald made behind them as Nyx led her towards one of the balconies for some air-- and perhaps privacy as well.

xxx

Emerald was practically boiling with indignation when Mercury got back to their room.

"Woah-- somebody say your dress was ugly or something?" he asked, tugging loose his tie. He’d stayed behind a little longer to try to track down the pretty girl again, but when he’d returned to the balcony, she was gone. Emerald gave him a filthy look, but answered him.

"Cinder--" she ground out, and then looked at the door hesitantly. 

He smirked. "I'm alone, coward. Are you still in a snit because Cinder went and probably made out with that guy? So what?" he asked, and sat down on his bed. Emerald was already in her sleepwear, sitting on her own. He couldn't blame Cinder for being bored-- he'd found a particularly lovely little diversion of his own once she'd dismissed him for the evening. A diversion who was definitely making him do all the work... but he could practically guarantee it’d be worth it.

Apparently, Cinder didn't bother with that sort of thing. She took her fun when she wanted it and got right to the point. To each their own.

"Not just 'some guy'-- he’s the guy from Team PANC," she growled, hands making little angry claws when she said it. 

Ah, so that’s who it was. He hadn’t quite been able to see what Emerald was freaking out about at the dance and now he understood. He knew who the guy was-- they’d made note of him during some of the combat seminars Cinder had instructed them to attend-- and he had a gravity based semblance that he was very skilled with. Atlesian Superiority at work. Also, he was the guy from the hot girl's team whose name escaped him at the moment. Mercury scowled, and wondered if that fact had any bearing on Cinder's actions.

"They're all just 'some guy' to Cinder, Emerald. Just like I'm 'Guy Minion' and you are 'Girl Minion'. None of us mean anything to Cinder-- so don't get so bent out of shape," he advised. 

Emerald bristled at his words. "Maybe YOU are 'Guy Minion' but I am definitely not just 'Girl Minion'!!" the thief hissed angrily. She leaned over and clicked off the light of her lamp, and slammed herself into bed. 

Mercury shrugged, and got ready for bed in the dark while she pouted instead.

xxx

Nyx had spotted Cardin Winchester lurking around the Dance-- wearing the dress uniform-- he didn't own his own suit, clearly. He'd lost track of his sparring partner while dancing with the very pretty Cinder. They'd gone out for some 'air'-- aka a lot of flirting and some making out. But when Professor Goodwitch nearly caught them, he let the sultry brunette slip from his grasp, and disappear back to whence she came.

He'd gone from there to check on Penny, and he'd caught sight of Cardin once more, this time leaning against a pillar with a red plastic cup of whatever punch they were all drinking.

A few feet away, Jaune Arc and his team were still enjoying the night. He seemed carefree in his cute little party dress and sneakers, and Pyrrha certainly looked happy. Nyx moved to the shadow of the pillar, and leaned against it, just behind Cardin's shoulder.

"How fuckin' ridiculous can one person get?" Cardin muttered, and Nyx shrugged.

"It takes balls to pull off that dress-- but I guess he's got good legs," he commented easily. 

Cardin almost spilled his drink, and looked at him in surprise. "Shit! Where did you come from?"

"Atlas, I told you already," Nyx grinned, watching Jaune and Pyrrha dancing together.

"I mean-- shit, you know what I meant-- this is lame--" Cardin sighed, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"That's because you aren't dancing," Noel pointed out. 

The Beacon student snorted. "Who would dance with me? I'm the Bully, remember?" he said bitterly.

"I'll dance with you," Nyx shrugged, and Cardin snorted again.

"Please," he scoffed.

"I'm serious-- why wouldn't I be?" Nyx frowned, and Cardin's laughter was cut short. He flushed, and looked away.

"Don't-- say that. Why would-- why would you say something like that?" he asked in a low voice, looking around nervously. 

Nyx stared at him in surprise, then glanced around. "You're-- not out," he realized.

"Out! Out of what?!" Cardin yelped, and grabbed his arm, hustling him towards a set of doors standing open for air flow. Nyx could have resisted his pull, but he didn't-- and found himself summarily dragged outside.

"Holy shit-- I hope nobody heard you--" Cardin muttered as he shoved Nyx between two well-manicured and potted trees.

"What--" Nyx managed, and Cardin sighed a little, hanging his head, his hands wrapped in the lapels of Nyx's black suit jacket.

"I'm-- NOT-- out-- I can't-- be OUT!" he said in a hurried whisper.

"Why not? It's not a big deal!" Nyx almost laughed, and Cardin shook his head.

"No-- it IS a big deal-- to my stupid mom!" he stated, and Nyx’s brows shot up.

"Sorry-- say that again?" he frowned. 

Cardin sighed, and slowly unballed his fists. He let go of Nyx’s jacket-- then straightened it a little, before straightening his tie, too. "My mom let me come to Beacon-- conditionally. I have to become a famous huntsman, never date a faunus, and give her some grandbabies. My mother is obsessed-- but like why the fuck would I even let her near my future kids--" he groaned, and Nyx fought a small smile.

"You're in the closet because she wants grandkids? Being gay doesn't mean no grandkids!" he stated, and Cardin shook his head.

"It's more than that--" Cardin sighed, and Nyx reached out, and put a hand on his shoulder. The bully looked at him, his expression warring between hope and terror.

Solemnly, Nyx met his gaze. "Would you like to make your mom really mad?" he asked, and Cardin stared at him, clearly struggling.

"If I say yes will you kiss me again?" 

It was both clarification and request.

Nyx pushed him against the wall where he'd been shoved himself moments earlier-- and kissed him. Cardin made a muffled sound of gratitude-- but after a moment-- definitely kissed back. Nyx felt strong fingers slide into his hair-- and the kiss deepened.

They were breathless when it broke, staring at each other in the shadows with red faces and pounding hearts.

"At least you've made me a better huntsman if she isn't gonna get grandbabies--" Cardin managed, and Nyx flushed.

"Actually-- you just broke that other rule, too--" Nyx admitted, and Cardin's eyes widened. Nyx lifted his hands, running them into his hair. Above his human ears were the lightly furred edges of a pair of wide ears.

"Humans cut off my ears when I was three-- right before they murdered my mother."

Cardin stared in shock, and Nyx didn't move, his fingers tangled in his own hair. If the other young man’s ears had remained, they'd have been laid flat along his head-- he was taking a big risk-- bigger than Cardin had taken. He reached out, and caught the back of Nyx’s neck and his lapel once more--and figured at least now he would be truly invested in making him a better fighter.

Nyx's hands slid from his own hair, and into Cardin's as the other teenager finally let himself have what he wanted. Keeping in mind how concerned Cardin had been with his out-ness, Nyx used a touch of his semblance on each of them. He pulled Cardin closer, and left them floating somewhere in the dark just below Ozpin's office balcony.

When the kiss broke, Cardin swore.

"Shit-- I'm definitely gay--" he said softly, and Nyx laughed.

"You could be bi-- name a hot girl!"

"Velvet!!" he managed, and Nyx’s jaw dropped. He was familiar with the names of all of the obvious faunus members of the student body.

"Really?" he asked, and Cardin groaned, and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"Fuck-- No-- I just said that because I was trying to picture you with your ears and she's a brunette, too--" he muttered, and Nyx’s hand tightened on the back of Cardin's neck a little, making him look up.

"I am not a rabbit--" Nyx said flatly, and leaned closer, his mouth just hovering over Cardin's. "I'm a wolf," he whispered, and Cardin made a small strangled sound, then sighed a little.

"Fuck those bastards-- you'd look so cute with wolf ears--" he murmured, and kissed Nyx again when he gave a surprised laugh. When the embrace broke, Cardin took a deep breath. "How gay is it if I say I feel like I'm floating--" he laughed, and Nyx grinned cheekily, motioning at their feet.

Cardin looked down, and swore as he gripped Nyx a little tighter. "Shit--how long--?" he managed, and his companion laughed.

"Since just after the first one--" he admitted, and Cardin looked back up at him.

"Are we floating or flying? Can I fall?"

"Floating-- and I won't let you fall."

Cardin laughed. "Too late, Nyx," he said, and this time, it was Nyx who blushed. "Have you--" he began, and Nyx blushed a little.

"I'm bi-- it's not a big deal with anyone I know. But-- no-- I've never told anyone I-- liked. My partner knows-- but nobody else here-- except you and her," he admitted, and Cardin sighed.

"Some day--" he said in an aggravated tone-- he envied Nyx that freedom. "I won't have to hide anymore. It's-- probably for the best-- that you'll go back to Atlas after the Vytal Festival, right?" he asked quietly, and Nyx stared at him solemnly for a moment, then jerked his head in a nod.

"Yeah-- I will. But-- this isn't nothing just because it could end, Cardin." His earnest gaze made Cardin nod back.

"It's not nothing. But when the semester is over-- we stay friends, right?" he asked, and Nyx smiled.

"Friends-- with some serious benefits--" he murmured, and Cardin sighed in happiness into the next kiss. Turns out dances weren't as lame as he'd thought.

xxx


	7. Field Trip (N)

Nyx and Penny walked down the hall to the elevators after her latest check up with Azura in the small lab on Ironwood’s flagship-- Nyx could easily fly them all up there with his semblance, and using Beacon Tower as a landing point could make things more... discrete. They had come back down and were on their way to the cafeteria to retrieve some food for their teammate who had decided to do a little more work up on the ship. They hadn't expected to bump into Ruby Rose who was already in the elevator when it arrived at their floor.

"Oh-- Hello-- Umm-- People from Atlas!" the girl blurted, having already started to excitedly wave.

Penny looked at him, and then slowly back to Ruby, before she relaxed a little, and finally smiled.

"Hello, Ruby! This is my brother, Nyx! Nyx, this is my friend Ruby! She knows I'm a robot!" she said the last part in a sort of stage whisper, and they both stared at each other in surprised. Finally, Nyx stuck out his hand.

"Hello, Ruby-- I'm glad Penny's made a friend here at Beacon," he finally said with a smile, and she slowly shook his hand.

"Are you--" she began slowly, and he laughed, shaking his head.

"No-- I am not. But I've known Penny her whole life-- I'm part of her team," he admitted.

"Am I-- allowed-- to ask you stuff?" Ruby asked curiously as the elevator door slid shut. He hesitated, and then shrugged a little.

"Technically no-- and honestly, there's not a lot I could tell you if I was allowed. I'm not a part of her technical entourage-- I'm-- her emotional support," he admitted, and Ruby giggled.

"They didn't want to get her a puppy, huh?" 

Nyx blushed brightly, and burst out laughing. "Yeah-- I’m sort of like a puppy," he agreed, and Penny giggled.

"Are you gonna compete in the Vytal Festival and go on missions too?" Ruby asked curiously, and he shrugged a little.

"Compete, yes-- Missions-- no. You understand how the General feels about Penny going into the field. I'd love to-- but no," he admitted, and then sighed a little. "Actually-- Miss Rose-- I already knew who you were when I saw you-- and I have-- a request, if you'd be so kind as to hear me out?" he asked solemnly. 

Ruby and Penny both stared up at him in surprise, and then Ruby nodded.

"What's this about, Nyx?" Penny asked softly.

"Don't worry-- I'm glad you two are friends-- but I also ask that you leave Penny out of whatever chaos you and your team are getting into," he said firmly.

"But-- don't you think she's strong-- ready?" Ruby asked, and Penny stared at the floor.

"Of course I do. But I also know-- that event on the docks was-- only the beginning. And while it may be your role to lead the way, Miss Rose-- Penny's role is yet to come. It's my job to keep her safe until then-- so-- I'm asking you both to please bear that in mind," he said firmly, and the two girls shared a look.

"What if-- someone is in danger and I can help?" Penny asked, and he smiled warmly at her.

"Then rules and roles be damned-- you help. That is what huntsmen and huntresses do. But please-- unless it is absolutely necessary-- please-- keep yourself safe?" he asked, gently taking her shoulders in his hands. Penny nodded, and Nyx smiled. "Thank you-- I was really worried about this to be honest!" he admitted, one hand behind his head as he gave Ruby an apologetic half bow. "If you need anything that you think Penny could have helped you with-- I'll gladly go in her place! I'm a strong fighter-- and I have a gravity based semblance." 

Nyx looked at Penny apologetically this time. "Also-- I was asked to make sure you didn't go on any more off campus trips, Penny-- so if it's important to you that your new friend stays safe-- I'll go along and keep them safe for you. I'm not going to be in trouble if I go off campus in exchange for you staying ON campus. Does that work for both of you?" he asked, and slowly, they both nodded.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open.

"Are we still allowed to hang out though?" Ruby asked, and Nyx grinned.

"Totally! You can even have my number!" he offered, and pulled out his scroll as they all stepped out of the elevator. 

Ruby smiled, and pulled hers out as well, only to gasp at the time. "Ahh-- let's make it quick-- cuz I have to get back to the dorms to meet up with my team and then we’re gonna pick a mission!"

xxx


	8. Search and Destroy (A)

"You've been more smirky than usual today," Emerald remarked, glancing at her partner as they walked towards the dorms on their way back to their room to check in with Cinder.

Mercury shrugged. "Things are going well, right?"

Emerald snorted. "Does this have something to do with that girl from the dance you were talking to?"

"Aw, jealous?" Mercury teased.

The mint-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. She then grunted and tugged at the collar of her black uniform jacket. "Ugh, these things are terrible. Way too constricting."

"Oh I don't know... they seem okay to me," Mercury remarked, tilting his head to the side and staring at Emerald's legs.

"You are such a perv," Emerald snapped, reaching up and shoving Mercury away by his face. He stumbled backwards, catching himself as he nearly tripped over the raised stones along the side of the path.

"Hey, it's not like I'm not the one who designed those skirts," the silver-haired young man countered.

Emerald just growled in response and sped ahead of him, stalking past the few other people that were outside at this time of the day and disappeared into the dorm building.

Mercury sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Touchy. Must be that time of the month." He glanced around the courtyard and then spotted the girl in question. She was sitting on a bench outside the dormitory reading from her scroll rather intently. Her black hair was twisted up into a bun today, but those blue streaks were distinctive.

"Well well, what have we here." Mercury strolled up to the pretty girl in her Atlas Academy uniform which, he smirked to himself, had a skirt the same length as the Haven one. Her name was Azura, as he’d found out from looking through the information that Emerald had been compiling on her scroll about the various teams of interest here for the Vytal Festival. She was a member of the ironically named Team PANC from Atlas.

The girl looked up, her blue eyes boring into him. "Oh, it's you," she said flatly. "Your team didn't go out on a mission?"

"You interested in my busy schedule?" Mercury asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. 

She glared at him. "I'm not interested in anything about you."

He chuckled and sat down next to her. "You're cute when you're angry."

She huffed and closed her scroll, tucking it away into the pocket of her grey jacket. "You're full of it." She stood up walked away, not looking back.

He stared after her as she disappeared around a corner. "Adorable," he chuckled to himself.

\--

The nerve.

Azura half-walked, half-stomped all the way to the library building and once inside, found an unused study room to occupy. It had a projector as well, so she could link up her scroll and do her work on a larger screen instead of the smaller one.

Shutting the door, she locked it and went about syncing her device. Most of what she was working on were classified military projects, although some were more benign than others. This morning, the scientists in Atlas that she’d been working with before they’d left had sent her a bunch of chemical equations and updates to their Dust research. She’d been going through them all day and was just up to the report on Plant Dust when she’d been interrupted by the arrival of that silver-haired guy from the dance. 

Clearly, he just didn’t know when to quit.

When she’d asked Nyx about his mysterious dance partner though, he’d told her that she was part of the guy’s Haven Academy team. The smirky guy, Mercury Black, was also the one who had forfeited his match against Pyrrha in that combat class that Nyx had attended last week while she’d been running diagnostics on Penny in their dorm room.

Admittedly, he was nice-looking, but his cocky attitude just made her want to roll her eyes. There was also something odd about him that she couldn’t quite figure out; like he reminded her of someone or something but she had no idea what it could be. She tried not to think about it too hard though, because frankly, getting involved with someone here would not be worth her time. She had far more important things to be doing such as the work currently being displayed on the screen.

Azura worked for another two hours or so before Nyx messaged her, asking if she was done with her ‘science stuff’ and wanted to get in a quick spar before having dinner. She stretched, having gotten a bit stiff from sitting in the same position for so long staring at a screen. Training would be good for her right at the moment. 

Unlike thinking about Mercury. 

Now that would be a terrible idea.

xxx


	9. Search and Destroy (N)

Nyx tapped at his scroll, bored. Most everyone had gone on missions of some kind and now Azura was doing science crap-- she was either on the ship with Penny or in the library studying-- but they'd sparred before dinner yesterday, so maybe she'd be free later.

Since they'd gotten here, he'd had a lot of time to himself-- time he would have probably spent hanging out with Marrow back home, or one of his other friends, if he wasn't studying or training.

Training.

Nyx stuck his scroll in his pocket, and dropped down off the top of Beacon tower-- he liked hanging out on the roof of Ozpin's office, it made getting up to the ships easier, and it was quiet. He tapped the screen that had listed all the available missions-- there were a few left-- but some teams didn't receive permission-- or special permission in the case of freshman team RWBY. He couldn't find Team CRDL on the list, so he pulled out his scroll, and hesitantly texted one of the few numbers he'd gathered since their arrival-- Cardin Winchester's. He didn't have Cinder's number-- she'd been fun, but not like the Beacon student was.

Despite the fierce makeout action that had happened at the dance-- he hadn't actually seen Cardin. The dance had been quite eventful for everyone. He'd heard about some kind of break-in from his father-- which Ruby Rose had apparently interrupted. The cute little huntress had a habit of popping up wherever there was trouble. He liked that about her.

Cardin and his team didn’t appear to be on a mission-- their grades must have seen they missed that privilege. His scroll trembled, and he looked away from the mission board, grinning at the phone.

[I'm in the library trying to study.]

[Want some help?]

[My team is here too]

Nyx stared at his scroll for a minute, then slowly tapped back.

[What are you guys working on?]

[History-- but Sky also has Literature assignments, Russel has Maths, Dove and me have Tactics-- and we have like fifteen hours of training time to catch up on.]

[You guys can do homework later-- bring them down to the training room and we'll spar again.]

[You can't tell them anything!]

[Of course not-- but wouldn't you rather spend those fifteen hours actually improving? Besides I can help you guys with your tactics stuff-- and then you won't have any homework and they will.]

[All of us?]

[Yeah-- we're friends, right? That means you can still introduce me to your other friends. I won't make it weird, I promise. I will make them fear me!]

[lol fine. I'm tired of staring at books anyways-- we'll put this crap away and meet you down there in twenty mins?]

[I will be there.]

\--

Cardin was nervous as he led his team to the training room-- he told them he'd gotten them someone to spar against, but that was it.

"What team are we gonna destroy?" Sky asked, and Cardin hesitated before opening the door.

"Uh-- we're not fighting a team. Just one dude-- he's from Atlas," he stated, and Russel grinned.

"Should be easy workout then, huh?" he asked, and Cardin slowly shook his head.

"No-- and-- he's going to kick the shit out of us-- probably at the same time. But he's the only reason I've improved since the semester started-- so try not to make him hate us."

His team stared at him in surprise, and then Dove spoke.

"Why doesn't he hate us already? Everyone else does," he said calmly, and Cardin stared back at him. He already knew that Dove was better than him-- that Dove Bronzewing was the best fighter on his team. He knew that Sky lacked confidence, and Russel common sense-- and they all lacked discipline.

"Because we fucked that up already-- so a total fucking stranger is doing something to help us-- for no reason other than he is bored. Let’s not screw up our best shot at not getting expelled-- because I don't know about you guys but I'm not interested in going home yet-- are you?"

Dove slowly smiled, and Russel straightened up.

"Hell no," Sky grinned, and Cardin nodded, pushing the door behind him open, and leading the way into the training room.

"Team CRDL, this is Nyx Kenyon, from team PANC."

\--

Nyx could hear Cardin's voice outside the door, but he wasn't blushing or embarrassed-- and his team looked both eager and serious. Once they'd introduced themselves, Nyx nodded a little.

"So-- since some of you don't have your semblances... we're doing this empty handed," he declared, and Cardin nodded.

"Thanks-- we appreciate it," he said honestly, and when Nyx smiled, he had to look away, and cross the floor with his back to his team because he was now blushing.

"Who starts?" Sky asked, and Nyx grinned at him.

"It's fine-- I'm used to fighting four versus one. If I land a hit-- you're out. When you're all out-- we'll review. Then we'll go again," he explained, and Sky rolled his eyes a little, only to have Cardin shove his shoulder and give him a frown. Nyx ignored the exchange, and moved to the center of the training floor, and waited. "Whenever you're ready--"

Russel was the first to move-- he charged Nyx's left, aiming for his ribs. Nyx slapped his arm away. On his way by, he lashed out with his foot, and Russel skidded across the floor even as Dove and Cardin moved at the same time. Cardin went low-- Nyx liked high kicks and grabs, which he already knew, so he let his teammate fall into that particular trap and instead, he went for the knees. His foot swept, but Nyx was infuriatingly nimble.

Nyx curved with the attack, flipping over Cardin's leg-- which resulted in him dodging Dove's attack as well. He caught Dove's arm, and shoved him forwards-- he tripped over Cardin-- and fell on Sky.

Russel, finally back on his feet, sighed, and hung his head. "Shit we do suck, don't we?" he asked sourly.

Standing over the groaning heap of teenage boys, Nyx smiled a little.

"You don't suck individually-- but you all have zero coordination. You're not a team, you're four guys who share a dorm room," he admitted, and offered a hand.

Cardin took it first-- because he wanted an excuse to touch him. When he was on his feet, he offered a hand to Sky. "So...we need to develop teamwork?" he asked, and Dove groaned a little as he got up.

"Yes-- if you knock me out in the middle of a fight again--" he said in aggravation, shoving his finger in Cardin's chest.

Cardin started to bristle, until Nyx put a hand on Dove's wrist, and pushed his hand aside.

"This is the opposite of teamwork, guys," Nyx chided, and all three of Cardin's teammates looked at their leader, waiting for him to snap back. But instead, Cardin held in his own irritation, and gave a sharp nod.

"Okay--This isn't gonna work the usual way--so--time to change tactics, right?" he said, looking at Nyx, who grinned.

"Right-- so... you guys like board games?" he asked, and Dove nodded slowly.

"Uh... yeah, actually."

"Cool-- you guys go make sure there's somewhere in your dorm room to set up a game-- Cardin and I will go get it and meet you there," Nyx said confidently, and Cardin nodded. Nyx left ahead of them, and as Cardin started to follow, Russel caught his arm.

"Why are we doing what he says?"

"You wanna get expelled?" Cardin asked him, and Russel shook his head.

"Then shut up and go make sure our room is cleaned up," Cardin said firmly, and walked after Nyx, who waited with the door in his hand.

"Bring snacks!" Sky called out, and Nyx waved a hand, letting the door fall shut.

\--

Nyx opened the door to his dorm room, and then froze. He'd been hoping the girls would be out-- but instead, all three of them were in their designated dorm.

"Salutations Nyx!" Penny said brightly, looking up from her scroll for a moment, then back down. She and Ciel were clearly playing a game together.

"Hello ladies-- mind if I borrow your copy of _Remnant_ , Ciel?"

The girl looked up with a blush, and eyed the box sitting on the shelf by her bed. "Oh-- um-- who are you playing with?" she asked, and Nyx hesitated.

"Uhh... actually... I was gonna use it to teach Team CRDL to work together as a team," he admitted.

That finally got Azura's attention.

"Teaching?" she asked, closing her book on her thumb.

Nyx glanced beside him-- Cardin was standing there, his face red with embarrassment. "Yeah-- I've been working out with Cardin-- but he asked me to help out his team. We tried a spar-- but they--" he sighed a little, and Penny paused her game.

"They're not really a team, are they?" she asked, and Ciel looked at her in confusion.

"The methods for assembling teams at Beacon seems to be...'Fate'-- whereas at Atlas, we are carefully curated and combined to create an optimally balanced squad-- so while they are a team, they aren't at our level," Azura explained.

Penny tilted her head to the side-- Nyx watched her green eyes focus on the flash of movement just outside the door-- Cardin, scrubbing a hand over his face with a silent groan and walking back down the hallway.

Nyx shifted uncomfortably. "So... can I borrow it?" he asked again, and Azura sat up a little.

"Perhaps we should join you-- We could play in teams still--" she suggested, clearly bored as well.

He hesitated, and then sighed. "Um..." he said, glancing at the door again before he slowly nodded. "Yeah-- okay. Besides-- Cardin and Dove both have Tactics homework, too--" he added casually, and Azura perked up a little.

"Oh?"

"Yeah-- plus Maths and Literature--" he said with a grin, and Penny giggled.

"I can help with Maths!"

"And-- I can probably help with Literature--" Ciel admitted, and Nyx grinned.

"And I know History--" he added, and the girls began to put their scrolls away, Azura setting aside her book.

"Are your new friends nice, Nyx?" Penny asked cheerfully, and he chuckled.

"Oh, they will be," he said brightly, and Azura lifted a brow-- she knew perfectly well who was on Team CRDL, and how the other locals felt about them.

\--

Cardin was waiting against the wall-- quickly tucking his scroll into his pocket as Nyx arrived with the trio of young women behind him.

"Hey, thanks for waiting. Um, the girls are gonna come too, is that okay? And after they utterly destroy us at this board game, they're gonna help you guys finish your assignments-- is that okay too?" he asked, and Cardin was glad his red face could be due to the embarrassment of their generosity--because Nyx looked so cute he was trying not to have an aura flare up.

"Yeah, that's totally-- fine-- great-- Um--" he yanked his gaze from Nyx's face, to finally look at the rest of team PANC. Ciel was blushingly excited looking, Penny was beaming, and Azura looked to be fighting some kind of facial expression. He looked back at Nyx and realized that Azura could possibly know the secret he was keeping from his own team-- and cleared his throat.

"Thank you-- all of you. I promise if my team is not polite-- you can kick our asses for fifteen hours worth of training time we have to make up this weekend?" he offered, and Azura gasped.

"You're _fifteen hours behind_ and Nyx decided to play _board games_?!" she demanded, and smacked him in the shoulder.

"Ow-- hey! Those hours will do them no good if they can't be a team! So lets go show them how teamwork happens, right? You ladies versus us guys-- and everyone has to agree on what we do each turn! As a team!" he insisted, and Azura's eyes widened.

"Oh-- yes, of course! I see now!"

Nyx grinned, and turned back to Cardin, clapping him on the shoulder. "Don't worry-- they're probably gonna hate me for this, but it WILL make you guys a better team, I promise!"

\--

The girls destroyed Nyx and Team CRDL at the game of Remnant. It didn't take long-- Azura played with them-- dragging out their doom as long as she could, but Nyx had known they had no chance of winning.

Afterwards, for their victory, the girls made them pack their game up, and they all headed back to the library. In order to keep things quiet, they separated from each other-- Noel and Cardin spent a few minutes getting set up before the need to 'fetch books' drove them from the main study tables where they others worked quietly in pairs.

Nyx found himself summarily shoved into a bookcase for a completely thorough kiss.

"Oh my god I have no idea how they are holding it together-- I thought this was gonna be a disaster but it isn't!" Cardin mumbled into his shoulder as Nyx caught his breath. He lifted his head again, and gave Nyx another firm kiss-- but this time, he didn't respond the way he had the first time, and Cardin abruptly pulled away... because Penny was standing in the corridor, holding a calculator and staring at them with wide green eyes.

"Hi Penny.." Nyx managed, and she gave a little hiccup.

"Oh! Salutations! Um-- I'm not sure how to 'show my work'? I just... do the math in my head?" she said, and gave another hiccup.

Cardin abruptly stepped back, staring at the ceiling as he tried to get his face to stop blushing by will alone.

"Um-- Maybe Azura can help you--" Nyx said with a small smile.

"Right! Azura-- can help!" Another hiccup interrupted her sentence, and then she glanced around, before lifting her hand and saying in a stage whisper, "Your boyfriend's the best!" to Cardin, who had just barely gotten his blush under control when it flooded red again.

"Um-- yes. He is-- the best," Cardin managed to agree, and with a giggle, Penny turned on her heels, and headed off to find Azura.

Nyx and Cardin stared at each other for a long moment, and then Nyx grinned at him.

"So my sister likes you," Nyx said easily, this time the one to step across the aisle of books-- but this time, he dragged Cardin around another corner before they kissed again, then broke into quiet, relieved laughter.

It took Cardin another moment before he realized what Nyx had said, and gave him a confused look.

"Wait-- Penny's your sister?"

xxx


	10. Breach (A)

Sirens sounded all around the three Haven 'students' as they walked down the path overlooking the city.

"You don't think..."

"That's days away," Emerald spoke, her red eyes nervously glancing in the direction of the sudden explosion down in Vale.

Mercury watched as Cinder's mind whirled, quickly recalculating her plan to compensate for this unexpected turn of events.

"This... may end up working in our favour," Cinder murmured. She motioned for the pair to follow her. "Let's head down there. You two have some work to do."

\---

The alarm rang out, startling Azura from her work. Nyx’s scroll went off and he answered it. She looked over at him as he was frowning.

"Yes, of course." Nyx hung up, a serious expression his face.

"Nyx?"

"Vale's in trouble. Some sort of crater opened up downtown and a ton of Grimm came spilling out. Apparently a bunch of first years got caught up in it all. We've got to go help the civilians. They're scrambling all the available senior teams," he told her, pulling out his weapon case from under his bed. He’d stored it here last night after training instead of in the provided locker as he’d wanted to sharpen them.

"Great. So just us then? Ciel's out with Penny right now." Azura shook her head and went for her batons. She’d done the same as Nyx, having needed to adjust the Dust-settings in them after their spar.

"Yeah. Let's head to the landing platform." Nyx secured his twin-blades on his back.

"Right." Azura slipped her batons into their harness and the pair quickly went and boarded the waiting dropship, Nyx shouting instructions to the pilot as they took off.

They landed a block away from the central square. Azura could hear the familiar gunfire from the Atlesian combat robots that had been patrolling Vale.

"Be careful," Nyx said, drawing his weapons. 

"I will," Azura nodded as Nyx launched himself at the nearest pack of Ursas. Her job was to evade the Grimm and find any civilians that needed to be evacuated. It’d been awhile since they’d seen real combat but not long enough, in her opinion.

As she ran down the street, she heard a scream from the narrow alley next to her and she looked down it to see a small child trapped by a Beowolf. Cursing under her breath, she ran towards the Grimm, leaping up and landing on the creature's shoulders. She slammed her batons down; the Electricity Dust within them injecting a lethal jolt straight to its skull. The Beowolf cried out and collapsed, smoke coming from where her batons had made contact.

"Hey, are you okay?" Azura asked, sliding off the the corpse of the Grimm and kneeling down in front of the trembling girl.

The little girl nodded and looked up at her, only to suddenly shriek and point over Azura’s shoulder. An Ursa had somehow crept up behind her and was raising its claw to strike. Azura grabbed the girl, holding her close to shield her from the oncoming blow and closed her eyes. It was the most logical action to do in such tight quarters. Her aura would probably manage to absorb at least a hit or two but it was still going to hurt like a bitch.

The loud crack of a shotgun going off suddenly rang throughout the alley and Azura heard a heavy thump onto the ground. She opened her eyes and turned her head to see the body of the Ursa, smoking away beside the Beowolf's.

"You're welcome."

It was him. Mercury Black. The shotgun sound had been from when his greaves had impacted against the Grimm, killing it instantly. The smirk was still plastered on his face, but his eyes... Azura could have sworn that for a second, she saw a flicker of concern in them.

A woman appeared at the opening to the alley. "Addy?"

"Mommy!" The child slipped out of Azura’s arms and ran past the young man and towards the woman.

Azura stood up and walked over to where the girl and her mother had reunited.

"Thank you so much!" the woman gushed, having swept her daughter up into her arms.

"No problem. You'd better get inside though. There's still Grimm roaming around," Azura told her.

"Of course. Thanks again!" The woman hurried off, carrying the little girl who waved at Azura over her mother's shoulder.

"Huh. Look at you, getting all the glory." Mercury walked out of the alley to stand beside her.

Azura turned to him. "Um... yeah thanks," she said, noting that there were several freshly-smoldering Grimm corpses on the street around them.

He shrugged.

"What are you even doing here?" she asked.

He opened his mouth to reply but then was suddenly interrupted.

"Mercury!"

A mint-haired, tan-skinned girl came running up to them. She punched him in the shoulder, clearly annoyed. "Dick, you disappeared! We have to get back!"

Azura stared and was about to make a remark but then she too was cut off.

"Azura!"

Nyx landed next to her from somewhere above. He'd probably been using his semblance to fly around and look for her. "The main street's clear... oh." He regarded Mercury and his green-haired partner and then looked at Azura. "Uh... hey, Goodwitch sealed the breach so we should do another sweep and then rendezvous back at the square with everyone else."

Azura nodded. "Okay I'm right behind you." She glanced over at Mercury. Their eyes met for a brief moment and then she wordlessly whirled around. She didn't want him to see her reaction. Quickly, she followed after her partner to complete their mission. 

\---

Emerald's eyes watched as the dark-haired girl ran off after the guy who Cinder seemed to have an interest in. She supposed he was handsome... for a smarmy-Atlas-jerk. Those two were both going to be trouble for them. She could feel it.

"So that's Azura Yiu, huh?" she remarked, putting her hands on her hips. "I guess she's pretty for a boring Atlas nerd."

"What?"

"Oh please, I saw how you were looking at her," Emerald drawled, spinning her cohort around and giving him a shove. "Now come on, we gotta go deal with Torchwick."

"Heh, about time." Mercury cracked his knuckles. He'd been looking forward to 'arresting' that orange-haired clown anyways.

xxx


	11. Breach (N)

Nyx smashed into a trio of Ursas, splitting the lead Grimm in two with a single gravity-weighted slash of his swords. Azura had taken off in the opposite direction, so he cleared the trio that would have followed her with relative ease.

His objective was the crater itself-- his father had told him during his call that Team RWBY was the group of first years at the center of it all. He didn't want it getting back to Penny-- he'd made her a promise.

He got to the plaza just in time to see his father swoop in with more backup from the rest of the Atlesian fleet.

"And Ozpin called you paranoid--" Nyx grinned, watching the soldiers drop down and engage. They did an impressive job-- but he had to admit it wasn't terribly stylish. He moved through a pack of Beowolves with deadly efficiency-- before landing near Penny's new friend.

"Hello, Miss Rose! As promised-- you need a hand?" he asked, and the girl gave him a fierce grin.

"Nope! Thanks though! Tell Penny I say Hi!" the girl chirped, and he laughed, launching himself past her as Team CFVY landed-- he recognized Velvet. His eyes darted around, and then he shot into the sky, giving himself an aerial view.

Teachers were arriving-- the initial rush of Grimm had subsided, so he pulled his scroll out, and tried to call Azura. She didn’t answer, which didn’t immediately concern him as she could have very well been mid-combat herself. He then dropped to the ground, and jogged to where Professor Goodwitch was putting down the last of the white faced creatures.

"Mr-- Kenyon," she almost said the wrong name, and cleared her throat. "I saw you fighting-- he was not wrong about you, I think. You're here to help with-- aftermath?" she asked, and Nyx nodded.

"Yes, Ma'am. I can do heavy lifting, but not repairs," he added, and she nodded.

"Why don't you go see if there's any citizens in need of aid?" she suggested, and Nyx flicked off a quick salute from habit, and headed back out into the chaos.

He made it around the corner, when he heard somebody struggling to lift something, and a muffled weak cough.

"Hang on, man--" the straining voice said, and Nyx touched a heavy chunk of brick wall that had fallen over. It lifted, and the straining voice made a surprised sound as it floated off the pile. Nyx touched several other pieces, and the view between them cleared as the debris rose.

Cardin grinned at him.

"I'm-- really glad to see you," he stated, and Nyx returned the grin.

"We have people to help-- you can thank me later," he smirked, and Cardin chuckled.

"Oh-- I will," he assured the Atlesian young man, and then knelt and used his newfound semblance to heal the injured man's wounds. "There you go-- all better?" he asked, and Nyx shoved the floating debris off to one side before letting it fall into a pile where he wanted it to.

Nyx glanced back, and watched Cardin blush through the old man's gratitude. If nothing else good came of his time in Beacon-- even if nothing he did was of any value to his father beyond the obedience and loyalty of his son-- at least he would know he'd helped Cardin.

It made him feel far more useful than being Penny's babysitter did, that was for certain.

"Cardin!" he called, and the brunette looked at him across the street. "I have to keep looking for people-- but you should go see Goodwitch in the square. People could be hurt and you can help them," he stated. 

Cardin hesitated, but then nodded. "The roof later?" he asked, and Nyx nodded. Cardin returned it, then headed for the square, while Nyx took to the sky again.

He finally found Azura a couple of blocks away-- and the grey figure standing beside her was that Mercury guy from Cinder's team-- though he didn't see his occasional make-out partner anywhere close by. The green-haired girl from their team was there as well and she appeared to have a small scowl on her face.

"Azura!" he called, and she looked up as he dropped to the ground beside her, eyeing Cinder's teammates.

"The main street's clear... oh." He regarded Mercury and his green-haired partner and then looked at Azura. Something about Mercury's smug expression made him want to punch it suddenly.

"Uh... hey, Goodwitch sealed the breach so we should do another sweep and then rendezvous back at the square with everyone else."

Azura nodded at him. "Okay I'm right behind you." She glanced over at Mercury before turning back towards him. She didn't see the smirk he gave when she turned away from him, or the wordless eyeroll of his partner. Nyx met the silver haired young man's gaze for a moment, then turned as well and led Azura back towards the square.

Whatever it was that seemed strange about Cinder's team-- Cinder included-- Nyx would figure it out another day if Azura didn't figure it out first.

xxx

Nyx landed lightly on the roof-- It was the first time he'd seen Cardin in clothes that didn't have the Beacon crest on them-- just a plain white muscle shirt and a pair of grey sweats under a red zippered hoodie.

"Thanks for the help today," he said as Nyx touched down. "Goodwitch-- seemed pretty surprised when I volunteered-- she almost turned me away until I told her I'd unlocked my semblance-- and what I could do," he sighed. 

Nyx perched somehow weightlessly on the ledge, and looked up at him with a grin. "Was she impressed?" he asked, and Cardin nodded a little. "How do you feel?"

Cardin frowned a little at him. "Feel?"

Nyx sighed a little, and reached out, grabbing the front pocket of Cardin's hoodie, tugging him closer. "Did it feel good to impress a teacher?" he asked, smiling playfully. 

Cardin blushed, but then grinned back at him. "Shit-- yes. I've never actually gotten told 'Good Job' and not had it be sarcastic," he admitted, but that didn't dull his cheer. "Now if I could just get get my team through the tournament--" he sighed, and pulled his hands from his pockets. He caught Nyx’s face with both hands, and gave him a firm kiss, which Nyx happily returned. "The only reason I even have a chance is because of you--" he admitted. 

Nyx grinned again. "Oh-- then what do I get if you win?" he challenged, and Cardin bristled.

"Why do you get a prize if I win?" he demanded, and Nyx laughed.

"Fine-- if your team wins their first match-- name your prize-- money's no object!" he declared, and Cardin stared at him in surprise.

"Wha-- seriously? Nyx--" he began to protest, but the visiting student rose, and caught the back of his neck, squeezing a little.

"Don't argue, Cardin--" he murmured, and the bully bit his lip for a moment, first thinking hard, then slowly fighting a smile.

"Remember when you said it takes balls to pull of a dress?" he asked, and Nyx met his gaze evenly.

"You're sure? Because if I'm dressing up, Cardin Winchester-- you have to let me take you out," he insisted solemnly, and Cardin gave a short nod.

"I honestly think you won't have to-- so what do you want if I lose?" he returned, and Nyx gave him a wicked smirk.

"If your team loses your match-- you get to wear the dress when I take you out," he replied, and Cardin flushed brightly.

"Hey-- that's not fair-- you're way prettier than me!" he protested, and Nyx laughed.

"You have no idea, Winchester."

xxx

End Volume 1


End file.
